Safety for children is of the utmost importance. However, a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present special challenges that have the ability to exacerbate a parent's worst fears. Two of the most challenging behavioral characteristics associated with ASD are wandering and an affinity to enter a body of water. As of April of 2018, the Center for Disease Control and Prevent released new data on the prevalence of autism in the United States. This surveillance study identified 1 in 59 children as having ASD, and a growing trend of drowning deaths is expected as a result.
Currently no technology exists that works in real-time to address wandering related deaths via drowning for those individuals with ASD. Further, other efforts to aid parents of children with ASD are often limited to the following: educational books; movies; school in-services; support groups aimed at awareness; location devices that utilize GPS; and bracelets that provide and promote ASD identification awareness.
The above and other needs are met by a behavior modification bracelet system for preventing wandering and reducing instances of drowning by deterring children, particular those with ASD, from approaching a body of water such as a pool.